The Definition of Green
by Mirakuru Rein
Summary: Jealousy is surprisingly rampant. But the definition of it can be interpreted in many ways. Here's a look of how our favorite twelve Konoha ninjas define green, the color of envy.


The Definition of Green

By Mirakuru Rein

A/N: Experimented with list type things. Review when you're done please?

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_**#1**_

Tenten is jealous of Neji. True, the whole Branch House thing can't be fair, but true, he is a certified genius. He will always be better at leading a squad than her, and he will always be a better fighter than her, and Tenten knows it. All Tenten ever wanted to do was prove girls were just as good as, if not better than, boys in the ninja art, and Neji's always been there to disprove that. For that reason she is jealous of him, because he is powerful enough to make her doubt herself.

"_It's because they're both girls."_

"_It's just because they're not willing to hurt each other. Gender doesn't matter when you're fighting." Tenten didn't notice it, but her face turned away from Neji as she said this._

_**#2**_

A lot of people know that Lee is jealous of Neji, but only Neji knows he is actually jealous of Lee in return. Many regard the Hyuuga as a genius, but like Lee said, what is a genius? The boy who had graduated with nothing but taijutsu had worked to the point where he could defeat, and probably kill, a genius like Neji. So Neji is jealous of Lee because Lee has the power to prove his beliefs, while Neji was only being a hypocrite about fate.

"_Genius? What is genius? I will make sure that through hard work, I will beat this so-called genius of yours!"_

_Neji was surprised to hear the determination in Lee's voice when he first heard this, because he figured that Lee would have given up by now. But as he watched the boy trying to fight the sand around him, the words only continue to astonish him._

_**#3**_

Lee was jealous of Neji, even since the Academy, but ever since he met Naruto he has instead been jealous of him. Lee was first jealous of the prankster when he heard he had beat Neji, a feat Lee's never been able to achieve. But what Lee is truly jealous of Naruto about is that while Lee had been trying to lead Neji through his darkness for a year, Naruto was able to change his views in a single fight. Naruto had been able to be a better friend to Neji than Lee had, and for that Lee is jealous.

"_So I said, 'If you don't want to do anything, then don't! But when I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuuga for you!'" the blond boasted afterwards when Lee asked about the fight._

_Lee smiled and nodded, but his goals had retreated now out of reach in full view. He shifted on his crutch as he tried to keep up with Naruto's quickening pace._

_**#4**_

People think Naruto is jealous of Sasuke, but Naruto knows being jealous of Sasuke won't get him anywhere. The only way he can beat Sasuke is by training like hell. Instead, Naruto is jealous of Sakura, because she is smart, practical, and most importantly, she is a miracle healer. Whenever Naruto is depressed or laden with troubles, he goes to her to "get fixed," he likes to call it. She doesn't need a fight to beat sense into his head, but instead she can set him straight with a few sensible sentences. So Naruto is jealous of Sakura because she is not a boy and she'll always mend better than he ever will.

"_He's really annoying, and he's never serious! He doesn't understand people's hearts, like mine."_

_Naruto thinks of these words sometimes when he's stuck in a situation. It comes out of the blue, and it's from when Sakura was immature and didn't really understood Naruto herself, but he thinks she was right back then anyway._

_**#5**_

There are many misconceptions of Sakura's jealousy for Ino, because there is none. Sakura views Ino as a goal, and more importantly, a friend. Sakura's a little jealous of Naruto, because he works so hard and gets what he deserves, but she realizes she sees a lot of herself in him, so she knows that someday she will get as far as he does. Her jealousy, however, is really directed towards Sasuke, and she thinks that she loves him because she spends so much time thinking about him. Sakura watches Sasuke train everyday, harder and harder, just to kill his brother, and she's amazed that he would even go the extra length to join an evil Sannin to do it. That, Sakura decides, whatever people say, is the real sacrifice for your dreams: to give up your home, your love, and your morals. She's jealous that he has a goal to work towards, while hers to win Sasuke's heart is a little more than a fantasy she made up in her mind.

"_It's going to hurt not only me, but you! You'll never be happy this way!"_

_Sakura thinks of the way Sasuke had coldly knocked her unconscious, nonresponsive to the pleas she made. It isn't strength, she believes, but bravery to turn your back on all you've ever known and needed._

_**#6**_

Sasuke is not jealous of many people. He's convinced himself that however much Naruto has improved, he'll match that by tenfold. He's not envious of other prodigies as well, because he's focused on achieving his goal and no one else really matters. But Sasuke _is _jealous of Shikamaru, because the genius is lazy and has no motivation. Sometimes Sasuke wishes that he didn't _have _to kill his brother and that people didn't _have _to expect so much out of him. When Sasuke remembers how Shikamaru always watched the clouds, lying down on the grass and never training, he feels a twinge of jealousy.

"_I just want him to say, 'As expected of my child.'"_

_Sasuke's never really talked to or met Shikamaru before, but the kid was notorious for falling asleep during class. Sasuke is always number one in the class, yet he considers himself an idiot. When he sees Shikamaru, Sasuke begins to see how his life looks like and how twisted it really is. _

_**#7**_

Shikamaru isn't jealous of Chouji, because he knows his friend worked hard to get where he is, but instead he is jealous of his other teammate, Ino. Shikamaru's always considered the blonde girl annoying and loud, and of course always troublesome, but she demands attention. Shikamaru's always been the unappointed strategist of the team for obvious reasons, but Ino's always been the unappointed leader, bossing the two boys around. And they've always listened to her. Why, they don't know, but it seems _right_, that much they know. Ino is a born leader, the perfect head of state, and Shikamaru's jealous that he can't be just like her when he's leading his missions.

"_So, what are you going to do?"_

_Ino's fearful eyes watched Sakura being beaten into a bloody pulp. Shikamaru wanted to run away in fear, no matter how calm his voice sounded, but Ino's decision was always more important than his. There was no question about it._

_**#8**_

Ino knows that she is unsurpassed in beauty or talent in female ninja skills, but she is mortally jealous of Chouji, though she'll never admit it. No matter how she lectures him about how dieting will help him attract girls, he'd refuse and say he's just fine the way he is. So whenever Ino hears Chouji's adamant protests of being "big-boned," she smiles and is a little jealous, because Chouji has the confidence to be the way he is, and she will always try to change herself to suit the guy she tries to impress that would never take interest in her either way.

"_You're eating so much again! And I thought you looked pretty good when you just came out of the hospital!"_

_Chouji shrugged and continued stuffing his face. His name suits him, because a butterfly is beautiful no matter how much it gorges itself. A boar is only pretty when you see its inner fight._

_**#9**_

Shikamaru's laziness is yet to be unrivaled, and for that Chouji is glad he's not jealous of Shikamaru, because he knows he has to train well to prove the Akimichi clan's worth. But however much Chouji agrees that his size is an advantage to his skill, he is still jealous of Aburame Shino. The two have never met formally, but Chouji has always noticed him when no one else would. The silent boy's ninja expertise amazes him, and Chouji feels sorry when Shino would always go pass, unsaluted by anyone but his own team. Nonetheless, Chouji is not jealous of the Aburame for his number of successful missions, but rather because he is last to be acknowledged, while Chouji would be the first to be noticed because he is overweight. So Chouji is jealous of Shino, because Shino has the amazing ability to melt with the shadows.

_No one cheered, no one said anything. Shino walked in silence to be only hailed with congratulations from his team. This was the first time Chouji felt jealousy towards a boy who did nothing to him except show him that it was possible to be a wallflower, and that Chouji could never achieve that status._

_**#10**_

Shino has never said much about any of his feelings, so that's why no one knows his jealousy for Kiba. Shino knows he is the type of person to be left out in a crowd, to be called "creepy" many times over. This has no bearing on him, because he accepts it as how society will treat him and that he can't change it however he wants to. But he's watched Kiba, who is the kind of person to always be surrounded by friends, to attract people with charisma alone. So Shino watches Kiba with silent jealousy, because Kiba will always be accepted for who he is, and Shino will always be disliked for that exact same reason.

"_I want to know what happened on the mission."_

"_Why? What if I don't want to tell you?"_

_Shino stopped. "Because it is the matter of being teammates now. You have to tell me." He continued walking, but Kiba didn't._

"_Are you just jealous because you were the only one left out of it?" Shino gave a small sigh. Perhaps he was._

_**#11**_

Kiba is loud and brash, but he's never announced the fact that he's jealous of Hinata. Everyone thinks Hinata is a shy, weak girl, but Kiba knows better. She's determined, never giving up even when her father doubted her, and resolves team disputes that many times Kiba himself starts. Kiba likes to think himself as protecting Hinata, but truthfully Hinata has helped him many times more than he has aided her. Hinata gives Kiba and Shino resolve to go on, she is the silent leader of the team who marches them through the hard times. Kiba wants to prove he's better than everyone, especially Naruto, but Hinata is the one person he can't beat. She's simply stronger than Kiba is, and always will be, and for that reason he is jealous of his quiet female teammate.

"_Are you okay? I knew that we were going too hard on you!"_

"_No," she quietly resisted, getting on her hands to support her small frame. "Please keep going. Please, do it, for my sake!" Hinata stared up at her male teammates with a ferocity that made Kiba scared. So scared he was willing to do whatever she asked him. For her sake._

_**#12**_

Hyuuga Hinata is not jealous of anyone. She is not jealous of alleged prodigies and geniuses, because she knows that many times it has been proved hard work can achieve anything. She is not jealous of her friends, because she knows that one day she will help them just as they have helped her. She is not jealous of her opponents either, because she respects their abilities and will take what she learns on the battlefield into account with her own life. Rather, she is jealous of the sky, because people always look towards it for solace when they need help, and Hinata knows it will always exist for that purpose. Hinata wants to be like that – always there, dependable because people know she's reliable. But she also knows that she will always be viewed as weak and insecure, and that's why she will never be any kind of mentor to anyone. So when Hinata looks at the sky to seek comfort, she's jealous of all the attention it gets.

"_Hinata, give up. You will never beat me."_

"_I will not take back my words," she said between halting breaths. "Because that is my way of the ninja!" Ironically enough, she thought, Naruto's eyes were the exact shade of blue the sky was when she looked out of the window during the first test of the Chuunin Exam._

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A/N:

-taijutsu – hand-to-hand combat

-Sannin – Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Means "the three." Obviously, the evil one is Oro-chan.

-Chouji's name means butterfly, while Ino's means boar.

Most of the italic scenes are from the anime, just saying. If you read the manga, I'm supposing you get the point of the scenes. Um, review please?


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